Mosaics as History: The Near East from Late Antiquity to Islam

Over the past century, exploration and serendipity have uncovered mosaic after mosaic in the Near East—maps, historical images, mythical figures, and religious scenes that constitute an immense treasure of new testimony from antiquity. The stories these mosaics tell unfold in this brief, richly informed book by a preeminent scholar of the classical world.

G. W. Bowersock considers these mosaics a critical part of the documentation of the region's ancient culture, as expressive as texts, ins...